The Sin, The Sinner
by AshtrayHeart86
Summary: Desperation can make a man do terrible things. Roy resorts to the only thing he knows to bring Edward back from the other side: Human transmutation. Post-series. RoyxEd. Yaoi. AU.
1. Equivalence

The ever-so-lovely Moo-chan made a bet that I couldn't write a kawaii (Cute) RoyxEd, since that's my favorite angst pairing of all time. I retaliated with this. It's a two-shot, 'cause it's too long for a one-shot, and I'm super nervous about posting it here, since part two contains some _serious_ yaoi content. It's rated M for a reason, so read at your own discretion.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, or any of its characters. I make no money from doing this: I do it simply because I like it.

* * *

It was stupid, reckless, he knew that. Bitch of it all was that he didn't care, not even in the slightest. All that mattered to him was that if he succeeded... Alright, he wasn't expecting to succeed. He wasn't expecting anything but that Gate to drag him inside its eternal void for attempting the forbidden, end the misery that had engulfed him for over two years, and maybe he'd see _him _again. Was it really so much to ask?

Once the fire had burned itself into a useless pile of ash and thrown him into darkness, he had picked up a piece of chalk, the one that lay beside the box of matches he kept on the small, wooden coffee table at all times, and retreated to the basement of the cabin he had adopted, heart pounding in his chest. The transmutation circle that poured from his fingers had drained his strength; delicate patterns covering the walls and floor and grinding his chalk into dust. Only when the sun had begun to rise, melting the snow that always seemed to congregate outside his door, did he decide he was finished.

He closed his remaining eye, grimacing as he felt the scarring upon his other, against the patch he refused to even sleep without, and rested his bare hands in the middle of the circle. The light that erupted from his fingertips was blinding in its golden hue, filling the entirety of the small room and blasting him several feet backwards, where he collapsed on his side, terrified that he had failed. His hands, which were still clawing at the circle were covered in intricate tattoos, painfully dark against his pallid flesh, and radiating a vicious warmth that forced him to grit his teeth in pain.

They hadn't faded, and Roy was certain they wouldn't. Even now, as he lay in the most uncomfortable bed he had ever had the misfortune to occupy, his arms wrapped around a sobbing blond teenager, they burned in bright contrast to his flesh: a reminder that he had dealt with the Gate of Truth, and was not to take his survival lightly. His eye was closed again, fingers trailing through a golden ponytail, and he could feel a pair of hands clutching at his torn shirt like they would never let go.

He hadn't spoken, not since he had appeared in Roy's basement shivering with fear and confusion, so when something that wasn't a sob finally escaped his lips, the elder man was more than surprised. "What were you thinking?" he whispered. "Wh-what the Hell were you _thinking_?!"

He had grown up a lot since the Brigadier General had last seen him. He was taller, facial features more angular and defined, and for once in his life, he wasn't ashamed to be crying into the chest of his superior, to show the weakness that he had been denying for as long as he could recall. Stunned into a moment of silence and unsure how to reassure him, Roy simply continued to stroke his long hair, admiring how it flowed through his fingers, how he had longed to be so close to him since the day he had disappeared. He finally had what he wanted, but it was a hollow victory.

"Why?" he choked out, looking up sharply to meet the soft onyx gaze.

Roy hung his head, desperately looking anywhere but into those haunting eyes. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm sorry. But I..." he bit his lip. "I knew you were out there, somewhere. I had to try."

"You could've killed yourself!" Edward screamed, startling one of the nurses from the other side of the glass door. He didn't seem to have noticed, however, as he continued, "Damnit, Mustang! You _know_ it's forbidden! You _know_ what happened to me!"

"Of course I do," he murmured, sliding his hand across his automail shoulder, and earning a shiver despite how he knew he felt nothing. "But...if I could see you...just one more time, I..."

His words caught in his throat, and nothing could force them out. Edward was looking at him, golden eyes glistening with tears, and making them look even more beautiful than he remembered. The faintest hint of curiosity flickered beneath them, like he was a transmutation he just couldn't figure out. His emotions were too raw, too overwhelming. He didn't know _how_ to tell him that he meant everything to him, that he...

Edward straightened up, his eyes still fixed upon Roy's, despite how the elder man was doing everything in his power to stare at anything but the teenager still curled on his lap. Edward's eyes softened. He leaned closer, his flesh fingers gently teasing at his jaw, tracing the bone and moving to cup his cheek. He turned his head slowly, giving the man no choice but to look at him.

"You're such a fool."

He looked sympathetic, despairing. His voice was so soft that Roy barely heard it, but he still closed his eye in shame, the guilty pit in his stomach clenching uncomfortably. Edward knew _exactly_ how to make him feel like an idiot. He had hardly moved when Edward tilted his head once again, their gazes colliding, and he leaned forward to gently press his lips to his.

He tensed instinctively, even his injured eye flickering in shock, but that didn't stop him from slipping his hand to the back of his neck, pulling him closer, and returning the kiss with the urgency that had been plaguing him for two years. Edward smiled faintly against his lips, and he pulled away, fingers still delicately tracing his high cheekbone, and as Roy glanced sideways at them, he flushed scarlet.

He shook his head slightly, and Edward immediately retracted his hand, biting at his lower lip like he wasn't certain he should have done that. He looked up suspiciously towards the door where he knew the nurses to be, and his shoulders sank in relief as he realized none of them were watching. He turned back to Roy, and was surprised to find a crooked sort of smile playing about his lips.

He swallowed hard, his cheeks flooding with color. "I'm sorry..." he mumbled. "I was just...It's been a long-"

"I thought I was the one apologizing?" Roy interjected softy, his smile not faltering. With the hand still trailing through Edward's hair, he slipped the band from it, and watched at the golden locks fell about his thin shoulders. "If there's anyone who has something to be sorry for, it's me."

Raking a self-conscious hand through his hair, Edward stared at the wall, and tried to act casual as he whispered, "Why'd you do it?"

"Edward," he shook his head in desperation, taking both of the teen's hands in his, and shivering at the cool feel of the automail against his skin. "You were gone too long...I couldn't...I couldn't take it any more...I could hardly even breathe without you there."

"What am I, oxygen?" he muttered derisively, though both of them knew it was feigned.

Roy sighed, interlocking his flesh fingers with Edward's prosthetic ones, and raising his hand to kiss each individual finger in turn, his eye carefully watching for any sign of a reaction. "Ed," he whispered, his voice cracking under the pressure. "I love you...I've loved you all along."

Edward froze, any witty retort or snide comment disappearing from his mind quicker than lightning, and he almost cricked his neck as he turned it sharply to face the General once again. Roy was looking right at him, with that eye that seemed to pierce anything with its sincerity, and he shivered beneath the weight of it. Nobody had looked at him like that, not even his brother, or Alfons Heiderich, who he had lived with for the better part of two years. He had never expected that look to come from Colonel- ah, _General_ Bastard, of all people.

"A...all along?" he stammered, wide-eyed.

"The minute I saw you, Ed," he confirmed, thumb absently stroking his metal knuckles. "Eleven years old, no limbs and all," he sighed, his dark eye closing gently. "I thought about you...all the time. Things I never should've-... But I knew...I couldn't. I couldn't take advantage of you. So I tried to forget," he laughed bitterly, a hoarse sound that was much too loud in the silence of the ward. "But some sins won't let you leave."

"Exactly. You're a sinner," Edward whispered, voice stronger than Roy had ever heard from him. His hand, still enclosed in his, clenched tightly, and when he spoke again, his tone was pure defiance. "I saw my brother in that world every day, and I wanted him more than anything. Wanted something to make it stop hurting," he paused, the memory still painful, but forced himself to continue. "So I'm a sinner too, Roy. After everything we've done, what's one more?"

Roy was silent for a long moment, heart pounding beneath his chest so loudly that he was certain Edward had to have heard it. He could feel the warmth of the teenager's body against his, still taste the young man he had become on his lips, and the way he was looking at him was something he had only dreamed of. So why hadn't the pain of losing him faded?

He smiled cheerlessly. "You've really grown up a lot, Edward," he murmured. "I didn't think that was possible."

"Watch your mouth, Bastard." he snapped back sharply, his tone playful, and Roy's lips twitched into a real smile as he recognized the old Fullmetal in that voice.

The smile faltered. "But...I know you. And I know, right now, you think you're indebted to me for bringing you back. You think this is Equivalent Exchange."

"Everything is Equivalent Exchange." the young blond responded immediately, as though he had rehearsed that particular sentence a thousand times over.

Roy's heart clenched painfully, and it took all of his strength not to press his hand to his chest, as though that would help. He hadn't denied it, _couldn't_ deny it, and Roy wasn't sure if he had expected anything else. "You don't owe me anything, Edward. I brought you back because I wanted you here, with me. It was selfish."

Was he trying to convince Edward, or himself? He didn't even know any more. What he _did_ know was that kiss, these words meant nothing to him, except settling a deal. Like he was earning what Roy had sacrificed for him. He glanced uneasily down at his maimed hands, and wondered exactly what that was.

"That world, Munich, was full of war and poverty," Edward murmured. "You probably saved my life. So I _do_ owe you something, Mustang."

"Maybe," he replied, his tone harsher than he had intended. "But not this."

Edward moved away, as though he was trying to shift from his lap, but he hardly moved a few inches before he stopped, and looked Roy in the eye once again with an obvious indignation. What irritated him more than anything was that Roy couldn't even look at him. Perhaps he might have thought different had he known that the elder man was trying frantically to keep his tears at bay.

"I don't get you, Mustang," he said, shaking his head. "I thought this was what you wanted. I thought _I_ was what you wanted."

Roy inhaled sharply, blinking tears from his eyes, and did not speak until he thought he had himself under some form of control. "You have no idea how much I want you," he bit his lip. "I told you I loved you, Ed, and I meant it, more than I've ever meant anything. But this isn't what I want if you're only doing it as Equivalent Exchange."

He looked momentarily stung, before his arrogant teenage self pushed to the front of his mind, and he found himself crying, "I _have _to believe in Equivalent Exchange, damnit! I have to believe that something's gonna come out of everything that's happened! When I was there it was all I had! It-"

"What about me?" Roy interrupted softly, turning his onyx eye to the blond. "Did you think about me anywhere near as much as I thought about you?"

His shoulders sank. "Of course I did," he whispered. "But I had no idea that you...Why didn't you say anything?"

Once again, Roy turned away. His gaze dropped to his hands, which were shaking, the tattoos emblazoned across them stronger than ever, and he realized in the space of a second that if he didn't find himself alone, soon, he was going to break down, and in front of Edward Elric, of all people. How embarrassing.

"Go." he hissed.

Edward blinked. "Wh-what?"

"I said go, Fullmetal," he repeated, voice weakening by the second. "You're dismissed, being let go. Whatever you wanna call it, just _leave_."

Edward stared at him. And stared. And then for good measure, he stared at him a little more, before finally, he uncurled his flesh and automail legs, and got to his feet. He stretched, bones clicking, and walked towards the door in an eerie silence, save for his prosthetic leg giving a hollow _thunk_ each time it hit the ground.

His hand resting on the door handle, he turned to Roy, who was determinedly staring at the wall. He sighed, shaking his head despairingly. "You fool."

Roy looked up sharply, but the door was already swinging closed behind him. He could hear his uneven footsteps moving down the corridor, growing ever more faint until all that was left was the worst silence he had ever found himself part of. It took almost a full minute to realize he was crying.


	2. Redemption

So, this is part two to this two-shot thing, that I'm super-nervous about. Reviews and constructive criticism are absolutely _worshipped_!!

**Warning: **Explicit yaoi and distinct lack of plot. You have been warned!

**Disclaimer:**As you might have guessed by none of this ever happening in the series, I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. I make no money from this, which sucks since £100 a month goes towards just getting me to College and back, which makes me broke. Constantly.

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Roy sighed as he kicked his front door to a close behind him, and made straight for the kitchen and a cup of coffee that didn't resemble tar. It had taken two weeks for those moronic doctors to decide there wasn't actually anything wrong with him, and to tell him that there was absolutely no explanation for the sudden appearance of the tattoos on his hands. He didn't care. He knew _exactly_ why they were there, and that was all that mattered.

He flicked the switch on the cooker until it burst into flame, and placed the kettle on top of it, leaning against the counter as he waited for it to boil. He had stopped by Edward's ward on the way out, though found nothing but an empty bed. He'd asked the nurse, but she only told him that she couldn't actually tell him anything about another patient, so he'd left, downcast, and wracked with the guilt of not being able to apologize.

Minutes later, he threw himself down into a chair, and placed his cup on the table in front of him. He stared at it with blank uninterest, as though it was telling him something about the politics in some country he'd never heard of, and closed his eye. Without his sight, his other senses heightened, and he suddenly realized that his clothes smelled sterile, too much like hospital. He grimaced. He needed a shower. Badly.

Groaning, he drew his aching limbs upright and headed for the bathroom, kicking off his shoes as he walked with no regard as to where they landed. He unbuttoned his shirt with one hand, using the other to turn the dial on the shower until freezing cold water came pouring out, and pulled the white garment over his head, throwing it lazily into the sink. He shivered against the sudden cold on his chest, but pushed it to the back of his mind and instead unzipped his pants, letting them crumple at his ankles before stepping casually out of them.

He slipped his fingers into the waistband of his boxers and slipped them down his thighs, shoving them aside with his foot. Massaging the back of his neck with a grimace (_Damn those hospital beds_) he stepped into the shower, pulling the glass door to a close behind him, and welcomed the warmth he had been deprived of for much too long.

He could see his reflection in the tile; his pale face staring back at him, and that black eyepatch standing out much more than he would've liked. Still, that wasn't enough motivation to take it off. He would rather the material get a little wet than have to stare at that horrific disfiguring scar that forced his left eye into a constant close. He was quite happy never to look at that again, thank you very much.

He started as he caught sight of a dark silhouette in the tile that certainly didn't belong to him, and got the shock of his life as he whipped around and came face to face with a fully dressed Edward Elric standing in front of him: scarlet coat, automail and all.

"Jesus, Ed!" he hissed, turning around quickly to face the wall once again. "Gimme a goddamn heart attack, why don't you? Get out, you're gonna give yourself pneumonia!"

The blond smiled humorlessly. "That's twice now you've told me to go. And I promise I will, once I've said what I've come here to say."

"That's great, Ed," he grit his teeth. "But d'you have to say it when I'm in the _shower_?"

From behind him, he heard Edward step forward, and could practically feel the heat of his body against his back. He flinched as a cool, metal hand touched his face, fingers teasing at his jaw and turning his head to face him. Their eyes had barely met when Edward's other hand deftly slipped to the back of his eyepatch and with one, sharp movement, it slipped to the floor.

He tensed immediately, pressing himself against the wall as though that would stop him from seeing what he was trying to hide, but it was too late. He swallowed hard, shame welling up inside of him, and made to speak, though he had no idea what he was going to say. Without a moment's hesitation, Edward leaned close, and pressed a gentle kiss to his scarred eye, flesh hand trailing through his dark locks, and prosthetic still touching his face so lightly that Roy could barely feel it.

When he spoke, Roy shivered at the warmth of his breath on his cheek. "Yes, I do."

Roy stared at him, confusion perfectly evident in his expression. To him, it suddenly seemed as though everything had had the volume turned down; he could barely even hear the water pounding against the tiles any more. All he could see, hear, or even think about was Edward. Not only had he not recoiled from his injury, but he had _kissed_ it?

"My automail," Edward murmured softly. "It doesn't scare you. Doesn't disgust you," he delicately traced his fingers over the old scars, and Roy automatically reached up to curl his fingers around the metal wrist, his eye flickering to a close. "So why should this?"

Roy winced. "My face..."

"Don't be so vain," Edward chided, though he was smiling. "You think I can't see what's behind the scar? That you pushed me away because you're afraid you'll hurt me, that you'll do something we'll both regret?" Roy winced again, and Edward knew instantly that what he said was the truth. "I know you, Roy. You barely said a word about yourself in all the time we were together, but I know you. You'd rather die than hurt someone else."

With his eye closed, Roy shivered as he finally realized the water had turned cold, though made no attempt to stem the flow. He wasn't even certain he could move at all with the blond he had dreamed of for longer than he cared to admit so close. Even the initial humiliation of being caught at his most vulnerable had faltered.

"Is that what you came here to tell me?"

Edward shook his head. "I came to tell you that you're a fucking idiot, Roy Mustang," he said sharply, and Roy flinched at his tone. Edward smiled, his voice softening. "...If you can't see that I'm hopelessly in love with you."

Roy's eye snapped open so sharply that it took a moment to focus. He managed to keep himself composed, even though his insides had spontaneously decided to play jumprope with each other, and his stomach seemed to be particularly good at it.

"...You lost me."

Edward smiled shyly. "I thought I hated you for so long. And to be honest, I did think you were an arrogant bastard only out for yourself," Roy laughed quietly, and Edward continued, strengthened. "It wasn't until I got to Munich that I realized."

Roy swallowed hard, and managed a tentative, "Realized?"

Edging closer, Edward slipped his flesh hand around his waist, and turned him around to face him fully in one swift movement, golden eyes soft with a compassion Roy had never seen from him. It really was stunning how much the little brat he used to know had grown up. He had never wanted him more.

The younger man leaned so close that their lips were almost touching and whispered, "That I'd done what I set out to do: I restored my brother's body, and I wasn't needed any more."

"Ed, that isn't true. Your brother-"

Edward held a finger to his lips to silence him. "So I had to think about who I wanted to be. What I wanted," he bit down on his lower lip. "And all I could think of was you," he shook his head and raked an awkward hand through his hair. "I'm no good at this. I'm trying to tell you that I-"

Roy wrapped his arms around his waist, sliding them beneath his shirt and held him close, whispering, "I know."

Edward gave a shy smile at the intensity in his dark eye and leaned closer, laying his head on his shoulder and softly closing his golden eyes. Returning his smile, Roy slipped a hand underneath his jaw and raised his head, pressing a gentle kiss to his parted lips. Almost immediately, the young blond flushed, a pink tinge coloring his cheeks and for a moment he admired how innocent he looked, gazing back at him with those wide, entrancing eyes.

For that moment, at least, until the naive glint disappeared and was replaced by a playful, lusting expression that elicited a groan from the elder man's lips. Without once averting his gaze, Edward slipped his hands to the hem of his shirt, delicately tracing Roy's own that were still curled around his slender waist, and pulled the tight, black shirt over his head.

It had barely hit the tile when Roy's hands began roaming the new, exposed flesh of his torso, tracing each individual muscle of his abdomen with just enough pressure to make him shiver. Edward moaned softly, pulling him closer, and his shivers became almost violent as a set of fingers teased the exact spot where flesh met automail, the slightest touch arousing the sensitive flesh.

Encouraged, Roy stooped down, pressing gentle kisses to his shoulder, hands still caressing his stomach and chest, and causing him to tilt his head slightly, exposing more of his throat to the elder man, who immediately took the opportunity. Deliberately dragging his tongue over the scarred tissue, he moved to gently kiss his throat, feeling each time he swallowed, or his breath caught as he tried to exhale, and he groaned softly against him.

Gasping quietly, Edward wrapped his arms around his neck, backing himself into the nearest wall and pulling Roy closer to him, his hips arching as he ached for the warmth of his body against his own. His fingers teasing at his belt buckle, Roy abandoned the skin of his throat to capture his lips, running his tongue over his bottom lip, as though asking for entrance. Eagerly, Edward opened his mouth, groaning softly as Roy slipped his tongue inside and entwined it with his, simultaneously sliding down the zipper of his pants and curling his fingers into the waistband.

Suddenly, Edward recoiled, pulling back with wide eyes, his cheeks flushed and lips bruised. "Roy...can we not-"

Roy stared at him, bewildered. "What? But I thought-"

"No, I mean..." Edward shivered self-consciously. "The water's freezing."

His golden eyes were clouded by an unfamiliar lust that Roy found impossible to resist. It drove shivers down his spine, caused his every muscle to tense, and before he even knew what he was doing, he had stooped down to pick him up, earning an indignant yelp that was quickly silenced as he crashed his lips to his again. He felt a metal hand at the back of his neck and allowed the blond to draw him closer as he backed himself out of the small shower cubicle, and into his bedroom.

His intention was to place the blond onto the bed, but before he had even released him, Edward had swiftly reversed their positions, so that it was Roy falling onto his bed, and Edward straddling his waist, breaking the kiss with the faintest of smirks. He never once tore his gaze from Roy's as he raised his body and peeled off his soaked pants, discarding them on the carpet. He made to do the same with his boxers, but Roy slapped his hand away before he had the chance, and trailed his fingers across his bony hips.

Edward lazily closed his eyes as Roy slipped his fingers inside the fabric, and painfully slowly dragged them down his thighs, repressing a groan as the body he had dreamed of for much too long was finally revealed to him in its entirety. Throwing his boxers atop his crumpled pants, Edward turned once again to the man he still had pinned to his own bed and smiled wickedly, leaning forward to kiss him gently as his hands trailed tauntingly down to his bare hips.

Roy closed his eyes, responding eagerly to even the most chaste of touches and moaning softly as Edward's hand drifted to his painfully hard and aching member. Apparently knowing _exactly_ what was drifting through his mind, Edward forced his tongue into his mouth at exactly the same time as he wrapped a hand around his cock, earning a groan that was quickly choked by his own lips.

Roy instinctively bucked his hips against him, his eye flickering closed as he started pumping him slowly. Edward moved away, watching his reactions as he quickened his pace, wrist flicking easily with each movement before slowing once again, and smirking almost cruelly as Roy gave a frustrated groan.

"Ed..." he whimpered, curling his arms around his back and pulling him sharply downwards, to feel every defined muscle of his stomach against his own, toned body. He slid his hand down, deliberately trailing his finger down his spine until his hand met the skin of his ass, and Edward pulled back immediately, his eyes glinting.

"Watch it, old man," he said playfully. "Don't wanna put your back out."

Roy made to say something, eye flickering with feigned annoyance, but was cut off sharply as Edward tightened his grip around his cock and all he managed was a strangled gasp. Releasing him with a knowledgeable smirk, Edward shifted his hips slightly, steadying himself against the bed with his prosthetic hand, and all too aware of Roy watching him questioningly.

Exhaling sharply as though in preparation, Edward raised his body, his eyes firmly fixed upon anything that wasn't Roy, and positioned himself against the tip of Roy's erection, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment, though he was doing nothing to prevent it. For a moment, Roy thought he looked cute, at least until he realized what he was doing, and his eyes widened.

"Ed...y-you don't have t-"

Both of them cried out, words forgotten as Edward sharply lowered himself onto his cock, teeth grit against the sudden shot of pain, and Roy gasped as he felt the tight muscles enclosing him, drawing him in. He could see the faint glimmer of gold beneath Edward's clenched eyelids, his lips twisted in obvious pain, though suddenly he couldn't think.

He forced himself into a state of calm enough to speak, and managed to choke, "You've never...done this before...have you?"

Wiping the thin sheen of sweat from his forehead, Edward smiled through the throbbing agony and whimpered, "N-no..."

Roy swallowed hard, nodding slowly. He knew what his decision was, but he had to think of Edward. He could only imagine how much pain he was in. "You don't have t-" he moaned as the teenager moved very slightly, and had to force himself to continue. "...Do this."

Edward leaned forward, despite the sharp pain that struck up in his lower back in protest, and playfully licked at his earlobe. "Yes, I do."

Sliding his hand's to Roy shoulders and gripping them tightly, Edward raised his body once again, before crashing his hips back down, and both of them cried out in a hybrid of pleasure and pain; Roy automatically reaching for him, to pull him as close as he could. Edward groaned quietly, his eyes tightly closed as he threw down his hips with more ferocity, feeling him tear through his body and hit his prostate, causing a welcome wave of pleasure to course through his veins.

He threw back his head as he moaned shamelessly, feeling Roy's hands around his waist and back arching against him as he drew him in deeper, crashing Edward's body against him with each thrust and moaning in ecstasy. Looking up into the heavy-lidded golden eyes above him, feeling each shuddering breath pass his lips, he realized that he couldn't keep himself under control for much longer.

"Ed..." he moaned. "I...I'm gonna..."

Turning his lustful gaze to him, Edward gave a crooked smile and choked out, "Inside..." and tightening his grip on his shoulders, crashed down his hips again.

His muscles tightening, Roy cried out in blissful release as he came, inside of him as instructed, and fell limp against the sheets, eye flickering closed in exhaustion. He had barely lain that way for a second when he forced his eye open once again, and gently touched his young lover's cheek, forcing himself upright to kiss him softly as he eased himself from him, and collapsed by his side.

He pulled him close, desperate to feel the entirety of his body against him, to assure him that this...that _they_ were more than a quick and easy lay. He could see the vulnerability in his eyes as he gazed back at him, and he smiled comfortingly, brushing a stray lock of golden hair behind his ear, and kissing his forehead.

Edward bit his lip. "Roy?"

Tilting his head to one side, Roy replied in the same tone, "Edward?"

He flushed slightly and averting his gaze, whispered, "Thank you...for bringing me back, I mean."

"Don't," he murmured softly, resting his head on the blond's shoulder and feeling his prosthetic fingers curling through his hair. "I told you, what I did was selfish and stupid."

Taking one of Roy's hands in his, Edward softly traced the tattoos with his fingers. "You would've died...for me. That isn't selfish."

Roy sighed. "But it _was_ stupid."

Edward laughed softly. "Yeah, it was. But...no one's ever done anything like that for me. I've always been the one making sacrifices."

Absently stroking his face, Roy whispered, "Well, now you don't have to."

Edward looked up at him, a certain mistrust in his eyes before he smiled, one that melted the heart Roy had been quite happy denying until the moment he met him, and curled into his chest, wrapping his arms around his waist and softly closing his eyes. Roy gazed down at him fondly for a moment before he looked up again, his eyes wide.

"Roy?"

"Edward?"

"You left the shower on."

Roy furrowed an eyebrow in concentration, and realized that he could still hear the water cascading upon the shower floor, and he groaned quietly. There was absolutely nothing in the world that would make him get up, and that damned shower was bottom of the list.

Sighing, he pulled Edward closer, trailing his fingers through his golden hair and whispered, "It can wait."


End file.
